Donald Trump vowed to end violent protests across the country, threatening to deploy "heavily armed" US military troops to cities even if mayors and governors object.

The president spoke at the White House with the sound of police firing tear gas at protesters in Washington audible behind him.

Trump just declared war on the American people🤦🏻‍♀️ invoking the Insurrection Act and deploying the US military against American protestors.... https://t.co/Ksl5Y6IK09

— Haya Al-Thani (@hayabntalwaleed) June 1, 2020

President Donald Trump promised to deploy large numbers of troops across the nation if cities and states don’t act to contain violence from protests over police brutality.

“I am dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers,” Trump said Monday at the White House.

Trump has seized on protests against police brutality toward people of color to portray himself as an icon of law and order, eschewing the soothing role past presidents have adopted in similar moments as he seeks to turn the election-year conversation from his widely panned handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

On a Monday call with governors and law enforcement officials, Trump delivered his most strident message yet as cities across the country impose curfews and governors deploy the National Guard to try to head off another destructive evening. Many other peaceful protests also are underway mourning the death of a black man, George Floyd, at the hands of police in Minneapolis and demanding an end of police violence directed at blacks and other minorities.

“You have to dominate,” Trump told governors and law enforcement. “If you don’t dominate, you’re wasting your time. They’re going to run over you, you’re going to look like a bunch of jerks.”